Phase XIII : "The Jaunt" and Utah (edited)

When you're traveling the United States, there's really no logical path or direction to follow.  We had a vague plan to head west, then "kinda loop around," but the states out west are HUGE, and absolutely jam-packed with really amazing things to see and do.

From New Mexico, we planned to head to Moab, Utah, but the most logical route in that direction was to loop up through Durango, Colorado.  So we did!

Now, on our way, we stopped in Mesa Verde National Park.  The place was crawling with zombie-style tourists who were not concerned with the physics of vehicle vs. human.  We waited in line for a parking spot.  My greatest memory is a little child who screamed "MY MUFFIN!" for thirty minutes straight while we toured the museum of the native peoples (his mother tried to distract him with pictures of naked Native Americans, to no avail).  The trails we wanted to explore were closed.  But we did, in fact, get to see the cliff dwellings from a distance.

We found ourselves in a camp town on the very edge of Colorado late at night, so we snagged a spot for camping and hunkered down to get a few hours sleep.

The lack of sleep did not work in our favor.  The next morning we rolled into Durango with plans to visit breweries and have a great time, but after a delicious lunch of buffalo burgers and dandelion beer at Carver Brewing Co, we really ran out of patience and desire to do anything whatsoever.

There was an awkward set of moments in which we kinda stood outside Vincent and kicked our shoes around, because we didn't want to do ANYTHING.  Finally, Ryan suggested we find a hotel room and consider this a Bye.  I did a little internet magic, and found that there was nothing in the immediate vicinity, but the Sophia Peace Retreat Center was on the road towards Utah, and they had availability.

I know the hard-core vanners will be totally disappointed by this, but we drove up to the Peace Center, unloaded our sad carcasses into our room, and just laid there.  I mean it.  Full stretch, laid out, doing nothing.  The sun setting reminded us that we needed to check out the local Delores brewery, but first, we went outside and watched the sun finish setting from the meditation labyrinth.

We pulled up to the historic brewery just as the kitchen was preparing to close, but they kindly agreed to bake one last pizza for a few weirdos from Ohio.  In the meantime, we quizzed each other with the on-table Trivial Pursuit.

That night, we slept like babies, and awoke completely refreshed to a beautiful breakfast spread presented in the lobby of the cabin.  I had an everything bagel topped with cream cheese and walnuts.  Highly recommended.

Our next stop was The Four Corners (the point where the state boundaries of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona).  I had the same passing curiosity that I'm sure everyone does, but I was still not prepared to stand in line to look at a single point on the planet.  There are signs everywhere limiting each tourist to 3 pictures, but of course, that goes out the window.  The guy in line behind me complained loudly that there just HAS to be some other place where four states meet up, demonstrating a fantastic knowledge of geography and patience.

Of course my phone camera froze when we finally got up to the plaque, but here's a shot of the line:

I hopped in the driver's seat for the next leg of the journey.  Driving keeps my mind from working overtime, especially when we're puttering through wide open sandstorms!

As we've traveled, we've seen signs warning of many things in the road.  Cows.  Horses.  Elk.  Bison.  Gusts.  Rocks.  Damaged guardrails.  I have never seen a sign warning of People Chasing Hats in the road, though, and if Vincent's brakes were any less efficient, that would be a new mandatory sign at Monument Valley.  A tourist parked along the side of the highway to take pictures actually ran into the road to chase after her hat, causing all traffic to jam on their brakes as hard as possible to avoid her.

That was basically how Monument Valley went, honestly.  You pay an entrance fee per person in the vehicle, and you're invited to drive throughout the valley, with plentiful pull-offs so you can take a variety of pictures.

The speed limit posted is 15mph, but most people hauled it so quickly down the dirt and gravel road that we had to wait for the cloud of debris to pass before we could take pictures.  I do not understand AT ALL why you would pay an entrance fee and then power through without stopping to appreciate the beauty and wonder of nature, but I digress.

The photos don't do it justice.  In fact, none of the pictures from here out will do any justice to the mind-blowing beauty created thousands of years ago by raging natural forces we can't even imagine.

In any case, we bid adieu to Monument Valley, and of course, had to take the famous "Forrest Gump" shot as we departed into Utah.

That's when I saw her.  Ryan was driving at this point, and I saw something large make its way across the road.  Ryan slowed down, of course, and I, rather excitedly, whispered "Hey baby" out the window.  She looked over.

We waited for all of the wild horses to cross the road, then proceeded with caution to our camp spot for the night.  We rolled into Bluff, Utah just as everything was closing, but the nice fellow with whom we'd made camping arrangements earlier that day was waiting for us.  The wind was very, very strong that night, rocking us to sleep until the sun scorched us awake.

And then it was onto our Major Utah Hike-A-Thon!  Given that we hiked 10 miles in New Mexico, Ryan was gung-ho to make 20 miles in Utah.  I thought that was a bit lofty, but I was willing to give it a shot.

Our first stop was Canyonlands.  We had so much fun!  The trails go up and down and across and over- marked by cairns, you really really have to pay attention to where you're going.  Several times, I didn't believe that anyone would purposefully put a trail where we were stepping, but sure enough- we did it!  We leapt from boulder to boulder, jumped off three-foot high cliffs, scrambled up the side of four-foot rock faces, and basically tested our bodies - and our hiking shoes- to the limits for several hours.

Afterwards, we established a pattern that would hold out for all of Utah- finish hiking between 3-5, have our one meal of the day, find a nook to camp in.  This particular night, we ate at the Moab Brewery, and camped at the top of a mountain in the National Forest.

The next morning, we decided to grab some breakfast burritos before we hit Arches National Park.  As I sleepily drizzled out of the van, I noticed my left ankle wasn't as comfortable as my right.  Amusing, as I had fallen at the Canyons the day before and landed on my right ankle.  I shrugged and figured it would work out as the day went on.

Unfortunately, when we got to Arches, everything went wrong.  I picked a trail, but we couldn't find the trail head.  Then weather started coming in.  There were obnoxious tourists everywhere- in the middle of the road, in the parking areas, climbing the arches (forbidden), and scrambling around off trail (also expressly forbidden).  Our moods soured, and my temper was the size of a thread at this point.  Furthermore, my ankle was not working out of it, and I couldn't just walk it off.  Still... we were surrounded by such beauty.

We hopped back in the van, feeling pretty defeated, but ready to try again the next day at Capitol Reef.  Besides- getting lost had earned us 3 additional miles towards our totals, so it wasn't a total wash.

The problem was finding camping between Arches and Capitol Reef.  Everything was jam-packed, and it's hard to find off-grid camping in the middle of a desert.  Luckily, internet magic came to the rescue again, and I found a camp park (not our favorite) that also had showers, internet, laundry, and a restaurant.  We hadn't showered since the Peace Retreat, so this sounded wonderful!

I did everything I could for my ankle that night.  I soaked it.  I chilled it.  I put salve on it and wrapped it.  I slept with it elevated.  As we rolled up to Capitol Reef, I felt pretty confident that I could make a few miles.  We started with a lower, easy hike that led past petroglyphs and pioneer graffiti.

Again, I can't take pictures or find the right words that describe how seeing these huge formations made me feel.  I was just in a constant state of awe that washed the thoughts and the anxiety right off my brain.  There was no room for anything in my thoughts but amazement.

For our one meal that day, we enjoyed a jalapeno and brie pizza in a small town we passed through by chance.  And then, just like that, the dry, arid desert turned into aspen-covered, cool mountain tops.

In fact, it was cool enough to bring out the sleeping bags that night, and we huddled together in Vincent's bed to keep warm.

In stark contrast, the next day at Bryce Canyon was BRUTAL.

Honestly, I had no business hiking, walking, or even getting out of the van.  I should have been a dutiful tourist and enjoyed the free shuttle bus ride from scenic location to scenic location, observing all the beauty and taking hundreds of pictures.

Bryce Canyon is one of my favorites, though.  I have a weak spot for vistas of hoodoos.  Hoodoos are the knob-like structures you'll see in the photos below, caused by freezing and melting of ancient waters.  We were so struck by the scenery that we didn't realize we'd plummeted nearly 700 feet into the canyons until it was too late to turn around and attempt the steep climb back up.  So we pressed forward and took a right turn at the tourists trying to feed peanuts to a marmot right next to a sign that said "DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE."

The ascent to the canyon rim was a major blow to my confidence.  I can hike.  I can hike uphill.  I kinda hate it, but I am physically capable.  Throw in a foot that won't carry weight, altitude, and a relentless climb of over 800 feet, and suddenly I can't hike so well.  In fact, Ryan, the experienced mountain climber, was also having issues with the altitude and the climb, so I shouldn't have felt so bad, but instead of concentrating on my own progress, I was fretting about the climbers around us who breezed up the trailway with hardly any effort.  Then, as if by fate, I met an asthmatic lady who was also taking it slowly back up the hill.  We joked and encouraged each other as we snailed our way to the top, and then suddenly- we had made it!!!  A hindsight view of online hiking catalogues revealed to me that the hike we had accidentally chosen was rated Moderate/Strenuous.  Go figure.

I had *one* request of Ryan, and that was a night in Cedar City before we hit Zion.  We had been talking about a "romantic evening out" since we left the house, and it still hadn't happened.  So, we found a nice Italian restaurant by the name of Chef Alfredo's, and we had our romantic dinner.

The next morning, I awoke feeling domesticated.  I had every desire to sleep all day, and zero desire to hike at Zion National Park.  My confidence had waned to a glimmer of effort, and as we set foot in a park filled with hard-core hikers and climbers, my self-esteem plummeted to less than zero.

Known best for the Angel's Landing trail, Zion is home to really not one single trail that's friendly to grumpy people with gamey feet.  We took a few short trails to get the best views of the park, but the overabundance of tourists (who still weren't reading signs to not mess with nature), and the uncooperative nature of my foot burned me out very, very quickly.  I did, however, walk about 100 yards down the path that starts the ascent to Angel's Landing.

The drive out of Zion is very ceremonious, with passage through several tunnels and steep, fantastic views as you wind your way away from the park.

Utah was truly amazing.  Though I was frustrated by my ankle and tourists, I felt so at peace among the massive creations of Earth and weather.  Whether we passed through barren desert devoid of life, or shivered amongst the aspens, everything felt so "Just Right."  Free camping is abundant, and thanks to our National Park pass, we spent $0 to visit and hike five incredible parks (exception:  parking at Zion is street only, which costs about $20 a day- you then take a free shuttle to the park entrance).

I was sincerely unwilling to leave Utah at first, but there are so many adventures ahead, that I settled behind the steering wheel and piloted Vincent towards Arizona!!